Optic disc in normal newborns

Three hundred full-term newborn infants were evaluated for disc coloration and cupping. Pink discs were noted in 63% of the infants. These observations agree with those of Hosaka,⁶ and they contradict the generally accepted statements that the optic disc of the infant is typically pale. It is suggested that this disagreement may result from a lack of general awareness of the phenomenon of blanching of the nerve head which occurs with only moderate pressure on the eye. Relative to physiologic cupping of the optic discs in normal newborn infants, we found that 70% of 300 had optic discs with some degree of cupping; in approximately half the cupping was slight. This finding is contrary to the belief of many observers that physiologic cupping is not ophthalmoscopically visible at birth in a majority of infants. Our findings seem to confirm the recent report by Armaly⁷ that there is a wide range of physiologic cupping of the optic discs. He proposed that the normal optic disc/cup ratio is genetically determined and is not influenced by age or sex.